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Still not happy .......

after the results of Heidis MRI scan and been advised that she does not have SM im still not happy with her. She is still doing alot of scratching to her rib area, bunny hopping whilst walking and after moving too quickly she drops to the floor as if in severe pain.
We dont really know much about her background as she was a rescue, however I do believe that her previous owners were quite violent towards her
im going to get another appointment at my vets asap, if she had something else wrong with her like spinal issues etc would this been seen on her original scan?
thankyou x

I'm sorry to hear that. It is so frustrating to not have something you can identify to treat. It sounds like she is in a lot of discomfort if she is dropping to the floor.

I would suggest investigating CM -- it is highly unlikely that she is clear for the malformation (and if anyone is told this on a reading, I would get a second opinion from one of the neurologists involved on the original grading scheme, as many neurologists simply are not familiar with what constitutes a malformation. In several cases, pet owners more familiar with looking at SM MRIs have correctly spotted malformations and hind-brain compression missed by their neurologist because might not fully understand the condition and/or haven't seen enough MRIs. So much can depend on who analysed the MRI. Also much depends on the positioning of the dog and the length of the MRI exposure. A small syrinx or pre syrinx can be completely missed dependent on these factors (images and more info at Clare's website).

If she has CM thai is very possible to be causing all the signs you see and there would be medication that could help this.

I would recommend having Clare Rusbridge read the scan -- she charges for this but you would have the leading professional's opinion. If she did the original MRI then I would definitely return to her given the signs you are seeing.

I'd also go back to the original neurologist. Bunny hopping/air scratching really doesn't have other causes as far as I understand so I would definitely wan the MRI reconsidered. Clare Rusrbidge has information on CM alone on her website FAQ on CM/SM.

You could of course have some other problems going on too but yes, they should have shown on the MRI -- an MRI actually gives a better image for diagnosing spinal problems than xray but is only used when xray isn't showing anything because of its expense. However it also depends on how much of the spine was MRId -- the mini MRIs would only look at the top few vertebrae. But still, I wouldn't think that bunny hopping would be caused by anything to do with spinal problems.

Thanks Karlin - we did get a 2nd opinion on the MRI scan from Geoff Skerritt @ Chestergates. We had a full MRI scan carried out on her and were not happy that the referral hospital knew enough about SM hence the 2nd opinion.
Would you still advise contacting Clare even after chestergates diagnosis?

Well: Geoff tends not to comment on the malformation alone -- did he specifically say she was clear for this? He'd tend to comment more on herniation. If she has the malformation I'd have your vet review Clare's website and treatment diagram and try addressing the symptoms following what she recommends. Have you tried anything like frusemide/gabapentin?

Geoff would give a slightly different type of analysis than Clare, and doesn't (as of my most recent scans with him) comment at all on the malformation or indicate it on the scan report.

I'd either have Clare look at it, or talk to your vet about trying some of the approaches on Clare's sheet. Some vets will not be willing to do this without talking to a neurologist. What did Geoff say?

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Thanks Karlin.
have copied the main part from Geoffs report below - [/SIZE][/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT][SIZE=3]We are pleased to report that the scans do not show cerebellar herniation or Chiari-like malformation and there does appear to be a CSF channel from the fourth ventricle to the cervical subarachnoid space. Heidi does not have dilation of her lateral ventricles and there is no sign of exudate within the middle ear cavity. The central spinal canal in the cervical (neck) region is prominent but it is less than 2mm in diameter and therefore would not be classified as syringomyelia.